. >> barbara starr at the pentagon, thank you for that. >>> lisa sylvester is monitoring some of the other top stories in "the situation room." >> well, egypt's new upper house of parliament convened today. they will have legislative powers until a lower house is elected. signed in to what you, the controversial charter was approved in two weekend rounds of voting but turnout was just 32%. critics say the constitution excludes minority rights. >>> and the recovery in the housing mar are ket remains on pace. home prices up 4.3% in october over last year. that is the biggest percentage increase and n. more than two years. near record low mortgage rates and fewer foreclosures are pepping spur saleses which is boosting prices. >>> and the world's longest high speed rail line is up and running in china. the 1428 mile line spans more than half of the country linking the capital of beijing to the southern chinese boom city. trains will run at 186 miles an hour on average and china aims to have more than 74,000 miles of high speed rail line by the year 2020. >>> and civil rights icon nelson